silverdoctor Posted February 16, 2009 Report Share Posted February 16, 2009 RE: Blazer like baits, flat sided I continue to have trouble achieving a uniform epoxy thickness on large flat sided baits. Using D2T and ~5 rpm dryer. The epoxy tends to be thicker on edges and thinner and nonuniform on sides. I have tried horizontal and vertical rotation. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hazmail Posted February 16, 2009 Report Share Posted February 16, 2009 (edited) I am probably telling you something you already know, BUT, have you tried rounding off the corners, in the transition between the rounds and flats? The thicker the liquid the greater the meniscus you will get - D2T being very thick, thinks these (flats /rounds) are 2 different areas and produces two distinct miniscusesssssss, you have to 'trick' it into covering both, although it will always be thinner in these transition areas.pete [/img] Edited February 16, 2009 by hazmail edit spelling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted February 16, 2009 Report Share Posted February 16, 2009 It seems to me that your bad results may be related to either the painted surface or to how you applied the epoxy. The paint surface needs to be dry and without any oil or particles. I have best luck applying D2T at room temperature or above and with a medium flat edge artist's brush. It does a more uniform job than 'flux brushes' and that's a head start on getting a smooth uniform clearcoat. Don't think of painting the surface, think of smoothing on the epoxy, never letting the brush drag on a dry surface. This gets MORE epoxy on the bait, which means it will level out better when you put it on the lure turner to cure. When I have to epoxy in the garage in winter, I add a few drops of denatured alcohol to the mix to make it more brushable and help leveling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vodkaman Posted February 17, 2009 Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 At first, I thought you've put it on too thick. But after reading Bobs post, maybe you are not putting enough on. I seems that there is a happy medium somewhere. You need to experiment with this. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverdoctor Posted February 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 Thanks guys! I believe Pete has the answer. The epoxy is always applied on the heavy side and always above 70 F. The epoxy is never dragged across the surface. I learned some hard lessons using Flex Coat for about a year. I use D2T as a wood sealer and the problem starts at this point. If I flatten the bait after sealing and before proceeding to painting, the result is pretty good. I suspect the meniscus (surface tension?) may be affected by shape and maybe the paint texture? Is it possible that I'm also compressing the flat sides during sanding? I will try altering the shape of the sides next time per suggestion from Pete. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lure--Prof Posted February 17, 2009 Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 Pete has a good approach here because you can't fight epoxy's nature without taking extreme steps, (such as highly diluting it and spraying it) which have their own problems enough that it is another subject. If you're going to brush epoxy on a lure, you have to not fight it, but work with its self-leveling property in a manner such as Pete's illustration suggests, and help it what it wants to do naturally. If you are going to fight it by not altering your lure design, prepare to apply multiple coats, and have plenty of sand paper in several medium to fine grades, in order to build up the thin areas and sand the thicker areas back down to a uniform thickness...which is another way working with what epoxy gives you. I often do this for my seal coat(s) with E-tex on flat balsa lures, and it really isn't as bad as it sounds when you plan for it and become practiced with it. Of course you can do the same thing with your top coats, as long as you're careful to not sand through the thinner spots to the paint! Dean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverdoctor Posted February 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 Thanks Dean! Bob P. has very good results apparently with that "special" artist brush. I use throw aways from walsmart. I hate to take the time to clean a brush between baits especially if I am doing 6 or more at a time. Basically Pete is suggesting an elongated ellipse rather than the rounded edges on flat stock. I am also going to thin my sealer coat to something like 50/50. It seems the thickness of the epoxy is more uniform after the first sealer coat. Regards, ken Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hazmail Posted February 18, 2009 Report Share Posted February 18, 2009 Well, speaking of meniscusessssss Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverdoctor Posted February 18, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2009 Pete; Sorry about your personal loss. I hope they are getting closer to finding the arsonist. There hasn't been much news on this recently. ken Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redg8r Posted February 18, 2009 Report Share Posted February 18, 2009 Hi Pete, I can speak on behalf of the whole TU crew in backing up silverdoctors condolences. I'm so sorry to hear you lost a fellow firefighting comrade. Just so you know, I wear the the Australian Royal Fire Brigade hat you gave me religiously, it's well broken in & comfortable. If there's anything we (TU) can do, let me know. We had a fellow Australian TU member pass on last year & we sent flowers to the procession & stayed in touch with his kin. if you have ideas on how we can contribute to the cause, or to his memory, again, get ahold of me. All the best my friend. Jerry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lure--Prof Posted February 18, 2009 Report Share Posted February 18, 2009 Most sincere condolences Pete. Dean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basseducer Posted February 18, 2009 Report Share Posted February 18, 2009 Pete, My sincere condolences to you and your brother firefighters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodieb8 Posted February 18, 2009 Report Share Posted February 18, 2009 sorry you lost a friend pete. for the epoxy coverage pete is correct. epoxies hate corners. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hazmail Posted February 19, 2009 Report Share Posted February 19, 2009 Good morning, it's another day here - Thank you all for your condolences, it is very much appreciated. Fortunately these tragedies don't happen often here, being a pretty small department with only 230 F/F on the ground- the down side to this is everyone knows everyone else, so it's very personal for the whole originisation. The biggest tragedy is he leaves a wife and 3 children, which must be devastating for them. Dave was a really funny guy, didn't fish much, but was an avid shooter and bow hunter, and had been a F/F for about 10 years. Gerry, thanks you for you condolences, and kind offer of assistance, Dave's widow and children will be well looked after by his 'extended' family and a good pension fund, but emotionally, I don't know how families get over this, his wife is a very tough lady though and a qualified electrician, so has something to eventually fall back to. Thank you all again, and Ken, sorry for hijacking your thread, I heard of Dave's death as I was typing that post. pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MR KNOW IT ALL KIND OF Posted February 19, 2009 Report Share Posted February 19, 2009 Pete, Im very sorry too!! Just read about it.. hate to hear this news. The Rookie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverdoctor Posted February 19, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2009 Pete: Not to worry, you had already solved my issue in your first reply. Respectfully, ken Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted October 12, 2009 Report Share Posted October 12, 2009 Sorry to hear you lost a friend Pete. My condolences to you and his family. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
